A stereotype denies gays their economic struggles, putting off meaningful societal change that would better the gay community's financial standing.

It’s a uniquely positive stereotype as it applies to gays: This notion, perhaps engrained by pop culture touchstones like “Will & Grace,” “Modern Family” and Rachel Maddow, that homosexuals tend to be upwardly mobile.

Gay money, this phenomenon is often called. And gays and lesbians are presumed to have it, based upon their stereotypical urban, professional and creative lifestyles.

But as positive as this stereotype may be, it is as wrong as all the others associated with gays. And it’s destructive, too. Because it somehow separates gays from the considerable economic struggles ongoing in America. It assigns them a loftier economic status than they actually enjoy, effectively dismissing their complex and multifaceted economic plight.

In short, this stereotype denies gays their economic struggles and puts off meaningful societal change that would better the gay community's financial standing.

The group, Queers for Economic Justice, is just one organization challenging this stereotype at every turn as it combats gay poverty and battles for an economic system that embraces sexual and gender diversity.

This is the notion of separating benefits and tax breaks from the institution of marriage and legally recognizing all manner of families and care-giving relationships, regardless of marriage status, giving them the same standing under law and the tax code.

Sure, some gays do fantastically well. But the economic stratification of the gay and lesbian community mostly mirrors that of society in general, so say various studies and Harrisburg area lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender leaders.

And yes, there are gay homeless people. More than you would think, especially in wake of the Great Recession.

“You certainly couldn't tell that by looking at my congregation,” added the Rev. Lori Rivera, pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of the Spirit in Harrisburg.

Their point is not to bring their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters down a peg in the public eye, merely to get closer to what they see as the economic truth.

Namely, that there’s very little difference in the way the gay community breaks down by economic standing and the way society in general is a mix of poor, working-class, upper-middle class and few rich at the very top.

“There is that same demographic in our community,” Rivera said. “We have that small few at the top. And then we have those living paycheck to paycheck.”

“LGBT people are not a separate population from the rest of the population,” said Marven.

And that's the whole point of shattering the gay money stereotype: Gays aren't different.

Still there is one huge distinction. In Pennsylvania, gay, lesbian and transgender people aren't granted explicit protection from employment and other forms of economic discrimination based on their gender identity and sexual orientation.

As Rivera, the Harrisburg minister whose congregation is about half LGBT, points out, a gay person’s employer can still walk up to him or her at any time and say, “Oh, you’re gay. You’re fired.”

The same is true with access to housing and public accommodations. In Pennsylvania, gays lack discrimination protection on those fronts, too.

But for many in the LGBT community, they’re still seeking full employment protection and better access to things such as their partner’s health care coverage.

In the transgender community, their hold on employment and economic standing can be especially tenuous. Transgender women in particular — those biological men who identify and come out as women — face blatant economic discrimination and suffer dire financial consequences.

Jobs are lost. Careers are ruined, and a life’s work building financial security is torn asunder.

Call it the cost of coming out.

And nearly every LGBT person has paid it in one form or another.

Through a series of posts all this week, we examine the financial realities of what it means to be LGBT in Pennsylvania, where true equality is yet to be realized, rights remain in flux and the economic costs are still adding up.

Look for the following posts examining all sides of the subject in the coming days on PennLive and in the Patriot-News. In addition, we will be sharing the personal stories of gays and lesbians who responded to our question: What has coming out cost you?

(The following links will be activated as the corresponding stories go live.)

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